Freytag's Pyramid
The third part of plot; the moment of greatest tension or excitement in the story.
Climax
A way of ordering the events in a story that mirrors the order in which they happen.
chronological order
The feeling of not knowing what is going to happen next in a story.
suspense
The author's attitude toward a subject.
tone
A style of narration that uses pronouns that refer to oneself, such as I, me, and my.
first person
The final resolution or
ending of a story.
conclusion
A struggle or problem.
conflict
The suspense produced by a conflict or problem that has not yet been solved.
tension
A narrator who tells the story through the eyes and thoughts of a single character.
limited narrator
A style of narration that depicts the perspective of the reader as if he or she were the main character. Second-person narration uses the pronouns you and your.
second person
The beginning of a plot, in which characters are introduced and setting is established.
exposition
A point in a story that shows something that happened earlier.
flashback
Conversation between two or more characters in a literary text.
dialogue
A narrator who sees and knows everything.
omniscient narrator
A style of narration in which the narrator knows more than any single character and describes characters using the pronouns he and she instead of I or you.
third person
The gradual release of tension following the climax of a story.
falling action
Hints or suggestions that tell you what is going to happen in a story.
foreshadowing
A conclusion based on what you read and what you already know.
inference
An idea or meaning that runs through a piece of music, literature, visual art, or other form of artistic expression.
theme
A storyteller whose interpretation of events may be biased or skewed in some way.
unreliable narrator
The increase of tension within a story; rising action drives the plot toward the climax.
rising action
The rate at which a story moves forward.
pacing
The force or influence that drives a character forward in a story.
motivation
The particular combination of diction, tone, and language used to tell a story. Voice includes dialogue spoken by characters as well as narrated information.
voice
A struggle between the character and himself or herself. This struggle happens inside the character.
internal conflict